When Consort Rou heard this, her expression froze. Pei Wenxuan smiled: "Your Highness, there is no need to be nervous. There are only the two of us here, so you can speak frankly."
"Lord Pei asked this question, so you must already have an answer."
Consort Rou picked up her teacup and said thoughtfully: "The Shangguan Clan has been Empress for three generations. His Majesty only has two Princes. One is from the Shangguan Clan, and the other is my son."
As Consort Rou spoke, she looked up at Pei Wenxuan: "My son is only eleven years old, but he is already a Prince. His Majesty has also given the Ministry of Inspection, which he has been planning for a long time, to my son. Lord Pei must be clear about His Majesty's intentions."
"This humble subject naturally understands. His Majesty has already told this humble subject about this matter."
When Consort Rou heard this, her eyes lit up with joy. Just as she was about to speak, Pei Wenxuan changed the topic: "However, if Your Highness has such intentions, Your Highness cannot interfere with the imperial examinations."
"Why is that?" Consort Rou put down her teacup and was a bit anxious.
She had already spoken to the aristocratic families and received money. Pei Wenxuan smiled and explained: "Your Highness, the imperial examinations are the result of His Majesty's painstaking efforts. His Majesty has spent most of his life preparing troops and reforming the tax system to pave the way for the imperial examinations. Now, His Majesty has made you the head of the Ministry of Inspection, and I will be the chief examiner. He has also ordered the aristocratic families to limit the number of people they can reject. What is his purpose?"
As Pei Wenxuan spoke, she tapped on the table: "It is to allow more commoners to enter. These people are the ones that His Royal Highness Prince Su can truly use in the future. Those aristocratic families are only befriending Your Highness because they see that Your Highness is in power. However, deep down, they value the orthodox lineage, birth, and eldest son more than anything else. No matter how Your Highness tries to please them, when the time comes to fight for the throne, will they really help Your Highness? "
Consort Rou didn't say anything, so Pei Wenxuan continued to persuade her, "The positions in the imperial court are all filled with people. If you let more people from aristocratic families enter, then there will be fewer people from humble families. How can Your Highness not know which ones His Royal Highness Prince Su can use in the future?"
"The Lord Pei is right." Consort Rou was a little conflicted. "Let me think about it."
"Your Highness, please reconsider," Pei Wenxuan said respectfully. "Then this subject will withdraw first."
Pei Wenxuan stood up and excused himself from Consort Rou. When he was outside, Pei Wenxuan instructed the person next to him, "Inform Cui Yulang to persuade Consort Rou not to interfere with the imperial examinations."
Consort Rou thought about it for a few days and began to refund the money to the aristocratic families.
It was fine if they didn't take the money, but if they took it and then refunded it, it was even more annoying. However, with Wang Houwen as a precedent, no one dared to say much and could only start from other places.
However, with Pei Wenxuan keeping an eye on the imperial examinations, the imperial examinations were like an iron bucket. Not a single copper coin could be stuffed into it.
Li Rong cultivated at home every day. She would ask around for news about Pei Wenxuan and go find him when she had time. Every day, he would put on a straight face and only tease her when they were in the dark.
From the beginning of the registration of the examinees, to the end of the examination, to the examinees arriving in front of Li Ming for the court examinations, the entire process took almost seven months.
After Pei Wenxuan was done with the imperial examinations, the position of Minister of Personnel had not been decided yet. As the Right Assistant Minister of Personnel, he and Left Assistant Minister Xia Wensi began to decide on the positions of the examinees.
Li Rong had people gather information and heard that Pei Wenxuan and Xia Wensi had quarreled for a few days. In the end, the news reached Consort Rou and Consort Rou directly found a reason to arrest Xia Wensi.
With Xia Wensi in jail, Pei Wenxuan had the final say in the Ministry of Personnel. Pei Wenxuan quickly arranged for the examinees to be assigned their positions. By the time everything was done and the examinees were familiar with their positions, it was already the end of August.
Last year, Li Rong's Inspectorate Bureau had arrested a group of people, and this year, Consort Rou had arrested another group. The entire Huajing Imperial Court only had around seven hundred positions, and many of the officials had been forced to take on multiple positions.
Now that the imperial examinations had brought in a new batch of officials, these people immediately became the "Prince Su's faction". They gathered together with the commoners who had been in the Imperial Court before, and were greatly favored by the Emperor, so they became a force to be reckoned with in the Imperial Court.
Among them, the one who stood out the most was naturally Pei Wenxuan.
When Li Rong heard that Pei Wenxuan was traveling, he was surrounded by attendants and had an extraordinary aura. If Pei Wenxuan was like this, then Consort Rou was even more imposing.
She had first imprisoned Wang Houwen and Xia Wensi, and then rejected the requests of the aristocratic families to bribe her. Since nothing major had happened, Consort Rou's courage had grown. Now that she had the final say in the Imperial Court, if a minor official offended her, she would be scolded for a light punishment, or directly detained in the Inspectorate Bureau for questioning.
As a result, the officials feared her even more and avoided her whenever they saw her.
At the end of the eighth month, Huajing was a bit cold. Li Rong put on a cloak and played cards with Shangguan Ya, Su Ronghua, and Li Chuan in the courtyard. Ever since she left the Inspectorate Bureau, Li Ming's surveillance of her had lessened by a lot. As a result, the three of them would come over when they were free to play cards and chat. It could be considered a form of entertainment in Huajing.
Now, Su Ronghua could be considered to have nothing to do, and Shangguan Ya was also muddling along in the Inspectorate Bureau. Li Chuan was a busy person, but he was at the age where he liked to play. In other places, everyone had to remind him of the Crown Prince's request. He felt too tired, so if he could hide at Li Rong's place, he would hide at Li Rong's place.
Just as the three of them were happily playing cards, Jing Lan hurriedly walked over and whispered, "Your Highness, there are a few officials outside asking for an audience."
When Li Rong heard this, he paused and looked at Shangguan Ya.
When Li Chuan heard the word "officials," he immediately stood up and ran to the rear courtyard, "I'll go hide first."
When Su Ronghua heard this, he also laughed and cupped his hands, "Then this one will also go take a look at the garden."
"I'll go with Young Master Su."
Shangguan Ya stood up and left the courtyard with Su Ronghua.
Li Rong took a sip of tea and took a fan from the side. He stood up and ordered Jing Lan, "Have everyone go to the main hall."
Jing Lan acknowledged and turned around to have someone pass on the message.
When Li Rong leisurely walked into the main hall, he glanced around and saw that there were already more than ten people sitting in the main hall. The leaders were Wang Houmin, Gu Zichun, and Zheng Qiu.
Su Wang, Xie Cui, Gu Zichun, and Shangguan Ya. Of the seven most prominent surnames in Da Xia, three of them were already seated here.
Although these three were not the heads of their families, they were still important figures in their families. As for the other eleven people, they were also influential figures in Hua Jing.
Li Rong could roughly guess the purpose of their visit. He waved his fan as he entered the room and smiled, "Everyone, why have so many people come together today? Do you have something important to discuss?"
As he spoke, Li Rong raised his hand and asked someone to serve tea. No one said anything and just looked at each other. Wang Houmin was the first to speak, "We're here to congratulate Your Highness on a happy occasion."
"Oh?" Li Rong smiled and picked up the tea, "What's the happy occasion?"
"We're here to congratulate Your Highness in advance on taking over the Inspectorate from Consort Rou's hands and the important position of Director of the Inspectorate."
Wang Houmin said each word carefully. Li Rong blew away the tea leaves floating on top of the teacup and didn't say anything.
Everyone was observing Li Rong's movements. They saw Li Rong slowly take a sip of tea and then put the teacup down. He leaned back in his chair and lazily said, "Everyone, you must be joking. The Inspectorate is currently in the hands of Consort Rou. What does that have to do with me?"
"Your Highness, we've all come here together, so we won't bother with the pleasantries." Gu Zichun put his hand on his walking stick and spoke slowly. He was the oldest and the Gu family placed the most importance on etiquette. When Li Rong heard him speak, he couldn't help but straighten his back to show respect.
"Consort Rou is a woman of the imperial harem. Her status is different from Your Highness and the Princess, so she shouldn't participate in politics. It's one thing for His Majesty to force the imperial harem concubines to participate in politics, but Consort Rou comes from a lowly background and doesn't know etiquette. Ever since she took over the position of Director of the Inspectorate, she has gone against the grain and caused dissatisfaction among the officials. Today, we've come here to discuss with Your Highness and see how we can help Your Highness take back the Inspectorate. "
Li Rong listened to these people speak with a smile on his face, "Gu daren misunderstands. When the Inspectorate was first built, I was only following orders. I'm just a woman and don't have much ambition. The Inspectorate has Consort Rou and Prince Su working. I'm very assured and don't want to get involved. "
"But this is Your Highness's blood, sweat, and tears," Zheng Qiu comforted, "I'm thinking for Your Highness. Even if Your Highness isn't greedy for power, shouldn't you think for His Highness the Crown Prince? Even if Your Highness and the Crown Prince aren't on good terms these past two years, he is still Your Highness's younger brother. If he prospers, he prospers. If he suffers, he suffers. How can Your Highness watch Prince Su cultivate henchmen in court and ignore it? "
"Ping L E doesn't understand what Zheng daren is saying. His Highness the Crown Prince has his own destiny. Why should I worry about him? Daren, you don't need to worry about us. "
Everyone saw that Li Rong was stubborn and looked at each other. Li Rong observed them and smiled without speaking.
Gu Zi Chun hesitated for a moment and finally said, "If Your Highness has any requests, please state them."
"Gu daren is sensible."
Li Rong nodded lightly and leaned back in his chair. He looked around and slowly said, "I know why you daren are here. Rather than helping me, isn't it better to say you're helping yourself? It's almost the end of autumn. Consort Rou needs to deal with a large number of officials at this time. You daren just want to push me up to change the sentence and avoid the death penalty for your family. "
Everyone didn't speak. Li Rong smiled and continued, "And everyone should see that Consort Rou is ambitious and has resentment towards the aristocratic families. If we don't stop her, in the long run, we'll be raising a tiger and inviting calamity. Today, we're changing the imperial examinations. In the future, I'm afraid she won't be targeting the imperial examinations, but the soldiers, power, and grain in your hands. "
"Your Highness sees clearly." Gu Zi Chun praised.
Li Rong tapped his fan lightly against his palm.
"But Consort Rou has Fuhuang's protection. If you want to touch her, it's the same as touching Fuhuang. You don't want to confront Fuhuang directly, so you want to push me out and use me as a puppet to control the struggle against Fuhuang."
"So, as a puppet," Li Rong smiled faintly, "Why should I fight to be a puppet?"
"Your Highness misunderstands," Wang Houmin hurriedly said, "We're here to assist Your Highness, not to control Your Highness …"
"Then will you listen to me?"
Li Rong's words stunned everyone. Li Rong shook his head, "If you don't listen to me, what else is there to say?"
Li Rong stood up, "See the guests out."
"Your Highness!" Wang Houmin hurriedly stood up, "The Inspectorate was created by you. Are you really willing to give it up so easily?"
"Compared to fighting with Fuhuang," Li Rong slightly lowered his chin, "I'd rather rest. No matter what, I'm still a princess, aren't I?"
"But everyone should think carefully," Li Rong reminded, "Consort Rou's ambition isn't limited to this."
With that, Li Rong walked in without looking back.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Jing Lan walked up and respectfully said, "Sirs, please."
Li Rong sent everyone out and returned to the rear courtyard. After this interruption, everyone lost interest in playing cards. Shangguan Ya and Li Chuan both wanted to ask something, but Su Ronghua was present, so they didn't say much. Su Ronghua also sensed that everyone wanted him to leave, so he cupped his hands and said, "It's getting late, this one will take his leave."
Li Rong nodded slightly as a salute, "I won't see you out."
After Su Ronghua left, Shangguan Ya immediately said, "I heard that many elders from aristocratic families came. What are they doing here?"
"They said they want to help me take back the Inspection Department," Li Rong smiled and glanced at Shangguan Ya. Shangguan Ya laughed, "In the end, they couldn't help it. Did Your Highness agree?"
"They don't want to stand out and want to use me as the vanguard. If they don't show some sincerity, I naturally won't agree."
"Then what does Sis want?" Li Chuan was curious. Li Rong smiled and glanced at him. He picked up his teacup and said, "How's your schoolwork recently?"
Li Chuan looked like he had a headache when he heard this, "Don't talk about this."
Shangguan Ya looked at Li Rong, then looked at Li Chuan. He stood up and said, "Your Highness, I'll leave first. You can chat with His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Recently, you should visit the Inspection Department more often," Li Rong instructed, "Don't let the family suffer there."
This time, Consort Rou investigated many members of the Shangguan Clan. Those who were demoted and exiled had already been sent out. Only those who were awaiting execution were still in prison.
Consort Rou originally wanted to directly execute them, but there were too many people involved. The aristocratic families repeatedly used various reasons to delay the execution.
Shangguan Ya understood Li Rong's reminder. Those who committed crimes in the Shangguan Clan had already been dealt with by Shangguan Ya. They couldn't be left for Consort Rou to deal with. Nowadays, almost all of the crimes that Consort Rou convicted were unjust cases that were based on forged evidence.
They were just putting on an act for Consort Rou and putting on a show for her. How could they really let her hurt someone?
Shangguan Ya responded, then stood up and walked out. After Shangguan Ya left, Li Rong looked at Li Chuan and smiled, "When do you plan to leave?"
"Sister is chasing me out." Li Chuan climbed onto the table and blinked at Li Rong, "I'm not happy."
"How old are you?" Li Rong raised his hand and poked his forehead, "You're about to get married and have children. Why are you still acting like a spoiled child?"
"I'm not that old," Li Chuan said with conviction, "I'm only seventeen years old. I haven't even been crowned yet. I'm still a child."
"Don't let others hear what you're saying," Li Rong laughed, "If others know that the Crown Prince is like this, I'll see who will support you."
"I'm only like this in front of you," Li Chuan became gloomy when he heard this, "I've heard so much about what the Crown Prince should do. I'll just do my best. Can't I be a little bit presumptuous in front of Sister?" Li Chuan raised his hand and pinched his fingertips, "A little bit?"
Li Rong wanted to say more, but then she remembered her previous life.
In her previous life, she always scolded him and reminded him. She rarely praised him and listened to what he had to say.
As a result, when Li Rong was about to continue lecturing him, she stopped. Li Chuan didn't notice the change in Li Rong's mood. He propped up his chin and thought, "Sister, it was such a good opportunity. Why didn't you accept it?"
"If I accepted it now, it would be easy to take down Consort Rou," Li Rong heard Li Chuan's words and said softly, "But it would be troublesome to deal with this group of people in the future. Right now, they're fighting fiercely with Consort Rou. In order to get my help, they would naturally be willing to sacrifice something. If I don't talk about conditions now, when will I? "
"Then what conditions do you plan to talk about?"
"Chuan 'er, the relationship between the aristocratic families and the Emperor is either you suppress him or he suppresses you." Li Rong turned the leaf tile in her hand and touched the patterns on it. She said slowly, "So you have to remember, we will never beg the aristocratic families. It's always the aristocratic families that beg us. They will only lower their heads if they beg us. Otherwise, they will never be trained like wild horses. "
Li Chuan listened quietly, as if he was thinking about something. Li Rong turned to look at him. Seeing him in a daze, she couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about?"
Li Chuan came back to his senses and smiled, "Nothing, I just think that you're right."
"You seem to have something on your mind." Li Rong was very familiar with Li Chuan. How could he be in a daze for so long for no reason?
Li Chuan was a bit embarrassed, but he still said, "I just thought of something impossible."
"What?" Li Rong was curious. Li Chuan hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "I'm just thinking about it. I really didn't think too much about it."
"Say it." Li Rong saw Li Chuan continue to elaborate, so she directly said, "I won't think too much about it."
Hearing this, Li Chuan sighed in relief, "Sis, I was just thinking, what if one day, you and I become like Father Emperor and Mother Empress?"
Li Rong was stunned. Li Chuan said awkwardly, "Sis, if I become the Emperor, one day … … you will also become one of these aristocratic families."
Li Rong didn't say anything. She quietly looked at Li Chuan.
Li Chuan was sometimes very naive when it came to politics, but sometimes he had a kind of extraordinary sensitivity.
If she was really only nineteen years old, when she heard Li Chuan's words, she would think that Li Chuan was stupid. How could there be such a day?
But she had been through so many years of rain and snow. She had held power in her hands. She knew the fatal attraction of power. She only felt that Li Chuan could be considered a wise man who pretended to be stupid. He was a bit too precocious.
"Sis?" Li Chuan saw that Li Rong didn't answer and was a bit worried. Li Rong bitterly smiled. She stood up and said tiredly, "When that time comes, the one who will ask what to do should be me."
"After all," Li Rong collected her thoughts and walked up the stairs, "Father Emperor won't ask what to do."
A person like Li Ming had a very clear goal. He wanted to depose the Crown Prince, depose the Shangguan family, and take back power. He didn't need to ask what to do. He only needed to have enough lifespan for him to continue carrying out his goals.
"Okay." Li Rong thought of her previous life and felt tired. She waved her hand and said, "Go back, I'm going to take a nap."
The various families passed on the news of Li Rong and discussed for a long time.
Li Rong wasn't in a hurry. She looked at the news from various places and had Shangguan Ya secretly collect evidence of Consort Rou's involvement in the Inspection Department.
At the beginning of September, Li Ming fainted on the spot in the main hall. Consort Rou personally sent Li Ming back to his bedroom and carefully took care of him.
When Li Ming recovered, it was unknown whether it was Li Ming's idea or Consort Rou's own idea, but Consort Rou actually proposed a tax reform in front of everyone!
In Da Xia, all the land and servants of the aristocratic families didn't have to pay taxes and weren't included in the conscription. This kind of tax system was the foundation of the aristocratic families' prosperity.
Only with money could they support people.
In order to avoid the conscription, many people would even take the initiative to give money to the aristocratic families and rely on them.
This way, the aristocratic families would have a large number of servants that could be compared to an army. They would also have the power to occupy an area.
If the imperial examination system cut off the aristocratic families' way of expanding their power through political plunder, then the tax reform proposed by Consort Rou was cutting off the aristocratic families' roots.
This news was given to Li Rong by Pei Wenxuan. Li Rong was playing chess with him and listening to Pei Wenxuan. When Pei Wenxuan finished, Li Rong sighed: "It seems that Imperial Father's body really can't take it anymore."
"Now … … it's already the second year."
Pei Wenxuan's voice was very soft: "If we drag it on for another year, it'll be about time."
"That's why Consort Rou is anxious." Li Rong twirled a chess piece between his fingers with a calm expression: "She has to do something to obtain more power and win Imperial Father's favor. Before Imperial Father passes away, Prince Su's position as Crown Prince must be confirmed. If not, Prince Su wants to ascend the throne in the future, it'll be considered a rebellion. "
"If no one responds, even if Xiao Su's army is there, I'm afraid it'll still fall."
"Now, if the people in the imperial court want to overthrow Consort Rou, there are two ways."
Pei Wenxuan looked up at Li Rong: "Either they directly make a move."
"But no one wants to be the first to stand out," Li Rong smiled, "They don't want to bear the reputation of rebelling against the emperor."
"Or they can hide in the dark and ask His Highness to make a move."
Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong: "But will they give His Highness what he wants?"
Li Rong smiled but didn't say anything. The candlelight flickered slightly, falling into Li Rong's beautiful eyes. Pei Wenxuan looked up for a moment, his eyes gradually darkening.
He loved Li Rong like this.
He had a bit of the cunning and quickness of a fox, but also the elegance and nobility of a cat.
"It's like boiling a frog in warm water," Li Rong said slowly, "If you want to unknowingly destroy a house, you have to start by removing the nails."
"Back then, the reason why I didn't agree with Chuan'er's style of doing things was because he was too unyielding." Li Rong raised his hand and placed a chess piece on the chessboard, "He caused unrest. If he didn't go to cultivate and ask for medicine early on, Da Xia would've been finished in his hands."
"His Highness's method is slow and steady, while His Highness the Crown Prince's method is to give him strong medicine first and then slowly nurse him back to health. They're both methods."
Pei Wenxuan said softly. Li Rong looked up at him: "From what you said, you seem to admire him very much?"
Pei Wenxuan's words made his heart tighten. He knew his life was hanging by a thread.
However, he pretended to be indifferent and said gently: "His Highness' method is naturally the best."
Li Rong threw the chess piece into the chess box and raised his hand to rest on the back of the chair. He leaned back and looked at Pei Wenxuan racking his brains to flatter him: "It's just that there are very few people like Your Highness who can see and think of things that ordinary people can't. His Highness the Crown Prince did well, but if Your Highness is the Emperor, then you're the Sage. "
When Li Rong heard this, he couldn't help but laugh. Just as he was about to reply, he heard someone call out from outside: "Your Highness, many officials are here."
Li Rong turned to look at Pei Wenxuan. When their eyes met, Pei Wenxuan stood up and went to get a robe and put it on Li Rong.
"Frog is here." Pei Wenxuan put the robe on Li Rong's shoulder and said softly, "Your Highness, go add water."
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